The Russian Foreign Minister, Serguéi Lavrovaffirmed on Wednesday that Russia’s military objectives in Ukraine were no longer limited “only” to the east of the country and considered that holding peace talks with Ukraine “does not make sense” at this time.

Lavrov justified that change by a “different geography” with respect to the situation that existed in Ukraine at the end of March, when Russia had said that it wanted to concentrate on the east of the country, after having failed to conquer kyiv, the capital.

“It is not only about DNR (Donetsk) and LNR (Lugansk), but also about the Jershon region, the Zaporiyia region and other territories,” Lavrov assured state media in an interview.

The Russian foreign minister also stated that “it makes no sense in the current situation” to hold peace negotiations with Ukraine and considered that the preceding contacts “They have only revealed the unwillingness of the Ukrainian side to seriously discuss anything.”

These statements take place after Russia registered in recent weeks territorial conquests in the east of Ukrainetaking Severodonetsk and Lyssytchansk, which opened the way for him to try to advance towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, further west.

However, fierce fighting continues to rage in this part of Ukraine which features recent deliveries of the best Western artillery pieces.

On the other hand, Lavrov warned that if the West continues to hand over Ukraine weapons capable of striking at long range, such as the American HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, the geographical targets of Russia would change even more.

“Because we cannot allow that, in the part of Ukraine controlled by (President Volodymyr) Zelensky or his replacement, weapons are found that can directly threaten our territory or that of the (separatist) republics that declared their independence or want to choose their future. alone”he declared.

The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of “working to annex the Ukrainian territories” that have come under its control in recent months using the same “modus operandi” that it did with Crimea in 2014.

“It is a pure lie to say that the Russian military operation is aimed at conquest. We are bringing peace to the liberated territories”responded the Russian embassy in the United States.

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